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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Because the because the CT6 interior is worse than the C-class or most Audis, unless you only judge by rear seat legroom. So unless the ATS gets a CT6 beating interior, they aren't being a game changer. The Alfa Quadrafiglio is like 20 seconds faster around the Nurburgring ring than a CTS-V. I don't see them making an ATS-v faster than a CTS-V so again no game changer. Mercedes is for some unknown reason building a C63 R that will drop weight and have 577ish hp, Cadillac isn't that ballsy because there is next to no market for cars like that. I don't think Mercedes should even bother with it.
  2. smk4565
    ATS will have to make a quantum leap to change any games, I don't think Cadillac has it in them to get the ATS interior to class leading, while also increasing performance and refinement and space. The car Mags already like the Alfa more than the C63, it is the darling of the journalists, although it still doesn't sell. The fact that the Alfa Quadrifiglio V6 is 75% of a Ferrari V8 gives it some solid cred though.
  3. smk4565
    If all these FCA products were such great cash cows, Sergio wouldn't constantly be looking for merger partners. FCA is spending almost nothing in on new products, so what do they sell in 2020 with so little in the pipeline? And one global downturn, recession or gas spike could be 2009 all over again for them and he knows it. They are making money now because the auto market has had back to back record sales years, that won't last forever. Maybe he should contact Carlos Ghosn, he like alliances and mergers, and he took on Mitsubishi so apparently no car maker is too far lost for him to take on. Nissan would get the full size truck they want, Renault can absorb any Fiat models worth keeping, they could sell Renault in USA at existing dealers (the new Renault Alpine 110 looks pretty sweet), they can kill Chrysler and sell the Pacifica at Nissan or Dodge or both, they'd keep Jeep as is.
  4. smk4565
    VW looks at things globally, the only global brand at FCA with any value is Jeep. I am sure VW would love to have Jeep in the arsenal, Ram trucks would make profit in USA would would help them, but isn't like something they really need. I don't think the value of Jeep offsets the worthlessness of Dodge/Chrysler/Fiat/Alfa/Maserati to VW.
  5. smk4565
    If GM put a ban on wearing black sweaters at work, Sergio would leave them alone forever. He should try to merge with PSA, no one wants cars "Imported From Detroit" he could try some imported from France and use Citroen to fill Chrysler dealerships. And they can consolidate some of the other brands.
  6. smk4565
    The reason there are a lot of riced out Civics and have been since the late 90s, is they are cheap 2nd hand cars, easy to upgrade. I don't know of that tuner market wants to pay $40k for one.
  7. smk4565
    781 Cadillacs sold all year? Ouch. Not really even worth trying. Dumping Opel/Vauxhall was the right move though. Shed those brands and legacy costs, focus on other markets where you make money.
  8. smk4565
    Desperate for American market sales I mean.
  9. smk4565
    The new VW looks better than the CC I think, but this 4 door coupe trend seems way over. The Mercedes concept doesn't look good it looks like a Kia, and they invented the 4 door coupe in the first place. The original CLS was ground breaking, the mojo is missing from the latest one. VW is just desperate for sales on anything, they need crossovers in a bad way and they probably see this 4 door coupe as their halo product.
  10. smk4565
    $40k buys an Acura TSX or TLX or whatever it is called these days. A $40k Civic is about as ridiculous as a $55k Accord. With manual only this will be a sales dog but Honda probably doesn't care since they sell so many base Civics.
  11. smk4565
    I'm sorry, did they say starting in the mid $30k range? So with any options this is a $40k Civic. And I don't care what struts and differentials they put on it, a front drive car isn't going to out handle a rear drive car, or deliver power as well. $40k gets you a bare bones Alfa Romeo Guilia if you want performance and style, or a fairly well equipped Camaro or Mustang.
  12. smk4565
    XC90 is also not selling too well right now. I think the XC60 will bring some serious competition to the Lincoln MKC and Lexus NX.
  13. smk4565
    I think it looks pretty good, and you basically get the same interior and powertrains from the XC90. Inside and out and with the powertrains it looks like a really strong entry into the segment. Although you sort of wonder why it is worth spending way more on an XC90 when you can get it all here.
  14. smk4565
    I don't like the look of it, it looks a bit ugly. But perhaps they assume Panamera buyers have no style, and will find this appealing. The shape of this looks off, I think it would look better if they just added back doors on the GT and called it a day. The powertrain sounds awesome though, that would make this different than an E63 or CLS63. I'd like to see the EQ Power+ thing added to the inline six because not everyone needs 800 hp.
  15. smk4565
    2018 Volvo XC60 7.jpg
    I like it, it looks good inside and out. You basically get the same interior from the S90 and XC90 and the same engines but at less money.
  16. smk4565
    It makes sense, GM doesn't make money in Europe, PSA does make money in Europe, and can consolidate Opel/Vauxhaul in and through platform and engine sharing, HR and financing sharing, etc, can keep this all profitable. Makes PSA #2 in Europe, it makes sense for both sides. GM can build Buicks from Chevys, no big deal. They Opel Buicks (or Opel Saturns) never sold well anyway.
  17. smk4565
    While they do need a 500 hp version of the Q60 to compete with C63, Jag XE and Alfa Romeo, they also need some other performance products. And Infiniti is lazy in some areas, like their version of the Pathfinder has the Nissan 3.5 liter V6, not the Infiniti 3.7 liter V6, or one of the new turbo V6s. The Q70 seems like it has been on market forever with no update. So good to see them bringing a new 500 hp V6 hybrid, I think powertrains like this are the future, and I know they want to tie it to F1, but no way could they put an F1 KERS system on a Q60 it would be too expensive.
  18. smk4565
    Merecedes sold inline sixes up until like 1996. Inline sixes are smoother than a V6 or V8, and they have better economies of scale with it because it shares 70% of the parts with the inline four. So it makes engineering sense and economic sense. They also don't need to hold on to V6 development, because they have something better. They went from 5.5 liter NA V8 to 4.7 liter turbo V8 to 4.0 liter turbo V8 on the S-class in a span of 2011-2018, they have no problem introducing a new engine every 4 years if it gets them better power and fuel economy. In that 8 year span the V8 gained 95 hp and 125 lb-ft while increasing fuel economy. They went from a 268 hp V6 in 2010 to 302 direct injection in 2012, to 329 hp turbo 3.0 V6 to 396 hp turbo V6 to 408 hp inline 6 for 2018. 140 hp gain in 8 years while increasing fuel economy. Unlike Lexus that sold the same 306 hp V6 from 2007 to 2017 with no changes. Cadillac dumped the rear drive SRX in favor of a front drive SRX sized almost identical to the Lexus RX. They even copied 2/3rd of their name. There should be a CTS-V engine in the XT5, laughable that Cadillac doesn't have a 500 hp crossover. But they are like Lexus, lame front drive chassis that can't handle any power.
  19. smk4565
    Mercedes had a direct injection inline 6 in 1954. BMW copied them. Mercedes is going back to what they have done in the past. With the ATS Cadillac was trying to get the same wheelbase, lengeth, width etc as the E90 3-series or whichever one people liked before the current car got big and added electric steering. like with XT5 instead of saying how can we make it like the Lexus RX, they should be saying how can we make a smaller version of the Escalade and make it uniquely Cadillac.
  20. smk4565
    Autoline reported that a day or two ago. The MKZ is likely getting cancelled in 2019 when it's life cycle ends and the factory where it is built will be used to make crossovers. Lincoln will be adding more crossovers to the line up instead. Autoline did say that Lincoln might add another sedan to replace MKZ, which it would be hard to imagine the Continental as the only car at Lincoln.
  21. smk4565
    Which is why Cadillac should have a sports car for $100k with Corvette performance and CT6 Platinum level (or better) interior. GM's lineup isn't like VW's because Chevy isn't just the mainstream brand, it has become the performance brand of GM also. And Buick and GMC overlap Cadillac a lot. VW's brands are more spread out, they are actually more the model of how GM should do it. GM is more like FCA with a truck brand and a lot of car brands that step on each other.
  22. smk4565
    ATS and CTS have been designed from the get go to mimick the 3-series and 5-series. Both are tanking right now, 3-series sales have fallen off too. Right now Lincoln is growing, and Cadillac is shrinking, and Lincoln a year or two ago was thought be be getting shut down. Lincoln is bringing more crossovers, maybe killing MKZ and becoming a luxury truck brand, so they could have a future. I still feel like Cadillac lacks focus, when the 3-series was hot they thought, let's copy it, when the Lexus RX was hot, they thought lets copy it. Now MKC, NX, Q3 and these small utes pick up so Cadillac says let's do XT3. But they are always a little late to the party rather than setting the trends.
  23. smk4565
    Benz is one brand, so they sell all on one lot. GM is not one brand, they have 4, more similar to the VW-Audi-Porsche-Bentley-Lambo set up with tiered brands. Use Toyota-Lexus as an example, different dealership, Toyota doesn't have $100,000 cars, Lexus does that.
  24. smk4565
    The Continental is outselling the CT6. Perhaps where Cadillac made an error was trying to out German the Germans. Lincoln is catering to those that want plush car ride and hardly any other luxury brand is doing that now, Lexus is even moving away from it, and their sales are tanking too. Cadillac advertising has been terrible even since they dropped Led Zeppelin also, and Lincoln seems to have some appeal going with Matthew McCaughnehy.
  25. smk4565
    They don't have to be. This is why VW doesn't make the Phaeton anymore after that flop and why VW doesn't make a $100k sports car, or why Audi doesn't make a $250,000 car. VW has a price point, Audi has a price point, Bentley and Lambo have a price point. Each carries out their mission.
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